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I don't believe I've ever met a martial artist who was concerned about messing up her hair or getting sweaty. I guess I'd say it's the aggression thing, and maybe intimidation. If my dojo had a designated sparring night, I and one other woman would be there for sure, but at various times I have heard the few others we have say they don't like sparring. I'm not sure any of them would show up. That particular day isn't the only opportunity for sparring in your school, is it? Seems like someone who doesn't like sparring will only change their mind if they start getting better at it, and there's no way to get better at it without DOING it. I kind of wish we did have a "sparring day," but not if it meant never sparring outside of that day.

Think about keeping your weight forward on the balls of your feet instead of rooting the stance with all the weight on your heels, that should help you balance while keeping your back up straight. This also makes sense for when you move out of the stance, you don't want to have to take the time to shift your weight to the balls of your feet before you take a step. It should also make your strikes more powerful by directing your weight/energy forward. Hope this helps!

You look at their boarding pass, & pull the guy(s) whose pass has the big X stamped on it. The computer that printed the boarding pass has already pre-selected the guy based on a giant algorithm that takes many parameters into account, including a randomizing factor. At least, that's how I think it should work.

http://www.dictionary.com

I'd say about double shoulder width? Of course keeping in mind there isn't anybody doing it in front of me right now to judge from, I think when you drop all the way into it your lower legs should be close to perpendicular with the floor, maybe not quite but close.

Yes...it was a joke.

So, say more like a philosophy of life than a religion. I don't presume to know much of anything about Tao, but I have heard it said that many serious karate students tend towards a Taoist approach of their art and life in general. Again, I'm not saying karate students = Taoists. But for what it's worth, here's a quote that speaks to the way I feel when somebody tries to make me spell out the exact non-physical benefits of my training. "...When Tao is talked about, the words can seem bland and flavorless. Looked at, it may not catch the eye. Listened to, it might not seduce the ear. Used, it can never be exhausted." -The Tao Te Ching, as translated by Brian Brown Walker

The instant he said that I would have tapped out, stood up and asked what he meant, explaining that I didn't know what the heck I'd done wrong. It's hard to imagine any human adult responding with anything other than "Oh gosh, I'm sorry, here's what I thought you were trying to do....." Maybe you moved in some way that made him think you tried to jam an elbow into his groin for fun or something like that. A dumb assumption for him to make, sure, but obviously there was some misunderstanding that should be cleared up if you have to train with him again. Especially since you're the new guy in the situation, I'd absolutely try to clear things up with him directly before you even consider going to instructor about it.

I agree. All serious karateka should be cheap and easy to clean.

THAT'S who that was, thank you!! I watched the last 20 minutes or so and couldn't figure out why he looked familiar. American Kickboxer 602 or something, wasn't it?

Yeah, it's completely arbitrary. The 2 belt system makes the most sense to me as well, I just don't see what use the colors are. My school does use them, but I'm glad there are only a few: yellow/green/brown/black (adults, anyway--the kids have way more, I can't even keep track of what rank each color corresponds to).

We sweep our training floor clean before each practice and wash it about once a week. I'd find it pretty disgusting otherwise. But Sai's right, looking well-used is not the same as being "dirty." If the place is used often it will look used, doesn't mean it can't (or shouldn't) also be clean.

Kensai's right, wash & dry it at least 4 or 5 times before doing any hemming, all the ones I've gotten shrank a LOT. If you hem it up to 3/4 length before making sure it's done shrinking, you're going find yourself training in knickers.

I'm with KickChick, quit pestering the guy over the phone and go try a class!! If the instructor is a sleaze and it's too expensive, you will find out then; it won't cost you anything, and you'll have gotten a taste of karate training and learned something. Could be he's the greatest teacher in the world and didn't want to quote you prices because he was afraid you'd hear it was 5 dollars more than you want to pay and hang up on him. Or perhaps he's willing to work with serious young students to agree on a price they can afford, if that's the case I'm sure he'd never offer that information over the phone. Or maybe he gets tons of callers who never turn up in the dojo, and he doesn't want to spend time on you if you're too lazy to leave the house and check the place out. You'll never know if you don't go, no one here can find any of this out for you. Yes, a dojo that charges money is a business...no, it's not exactly like a health club or retail store. There are many reasons why the prices won't be posted in the front window.

I was just wondering if you were actually asking about the karate GI, the traditional uniform worn by karate students...?

I grew up eating in Chinese restaurants, that's really comfort food for me. Kung pao, Szechwan anything, moo shu veggies, all good stuff...and no one's mentioned dim sum! How could you live without a regular dim sum fix?? Japanese food is great too, although my current favorite is definitely Thai...spicy/sour tom yum soup, eggplant drowned in hot curry sauce...now I'm hungry. However, I've not yet been able to develop an appreciation for Korean & Vietnamese food. I've tried Vietnamese places a few times but always feel like I'm just not ordering the right thing. Surely the giant bowls of bland noodle soup with enormous chunks of half-raw beef I've gotten are not authentic?? Korean I've only tried twice, a long time ago, should try again.

I study Okinawan Jundokan. I guess it's actually 13 in my school, since there are two versions of Sanchin. I've also heard of schools teaching some sort of very short pre-kata katas, or something like that, I think there maybe three of them. There are indeed different flavors of Goju-ryu, you're going to have plenty of variation from school to school. May I suggest YOU go find out how many kata Shudokan has? Not trying to be snooty, but if you go out looking on your own you'll find an answer to that question, as well as a hundred other questions you didn't even know you had. Here's a starting point --> http://www.google.com

There are only 12 in Goju-ryu. I believe you only learn 6 of them before Shodan (maybe it's 7, not sure).

Of course...why would you hesitate??

Yeah, always use a stud-finder before punching the wall. That way the bones in your wrist and hand will be crushed before they can do any damage.

I train in Okinawan Goju-ryu. Goju means "hard soft," the style teaches balance in hard and soft techniques (and everything, really, not just techniques). Like Kensai said, the influence of Chinese arts is easy to spot in the kata, it's a very interesting style. Generally we don't do much point sparring in our dojo, except it's often used as a drill in the kids' class. I saw the thing on Discovery channel as well. Sensei talked about it a little, he felt that what was shown looked more like random physical abuse and bullying than training. Our training does get rough and we do lots of conditioning, but he seemed to feel what was shown was excessive, or more...not sure how to put it. It was just done in a different spirit than what he feels makes a productive training environment, I guess.

Find a nice painting, just the right size.... Just kidding. I'd head to the hardware store, fix the hole, and then tell them. It's just a wall.

I train in a traditional karate dojo. We learn and practice take-downs, ground fighting, and fighting close/clinching. No, we don't train in that sort of thing as much you might in another art, as pointless as THAT statement is. I just get tired of seeing these sweeping generalizations of what karate does and doesn't cover. Just my 2p

Saw a good one just the other day (I love inane humor): Fat people are harder to kidnap.

I'd recommend against punching concrete walls for any purpose! If you strike with any power at all I can only imagine what that's doing to your wrist, elbow and shoulder joints. I train on the makiwara and understand that many people believe there are serious risks there as well, but at least a makiwara gives when you strike, so that impact doesn't jar all the way up your arm. Toughening your hands or anything else takes time, and you can do a lot of damage to yourself, you really need guidance for this.